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Awakening from a nap on the train from Paddington, Mrs. Elspeth McGillicuddy finds a train running parallel alongside hers. To her horror, there is a man strangling a woman in the other train. When the deed is done, the trains part ways. The victim, the murderer, and the crime scene disappear from sight. Since a body doesn’t turn up in the next few days, no one believes Mrs. McGillicuddy’s story. That is, except Miss Marple.

This Agatha Christie classic was the July pick for the @ShedunnitShow book club, so I could not miss the opportunity to pull it off my TBR shelves! Some readers have been disappointed with Miss Marple’s smaller role in this mystery, but I thoroughly enjoyed the introduction of Lucy Eyelesbarrow. The latter is a young intelligent woman who acts as Miss Marple’s eyes and ears at Rutherford Hall, the home of many suspicious characters. She also draws the interest of every man within the household, inviting a second mystery: Who will Lucy end up with?

Christie keeps us entertained with the many layers to the murder mystery. Not only will the body need to be found, but then she must be identified. These details are necessary before the actual murderer can be revealed. A slow-paced mystery, for sure, but I didn’t mind that at all because the plethora of characters and POVs utilized kept me well-distracted and well-invested.

Per usual, I have been able to correctly guess the culprit in most of the mysteries I have read this year EXCEPT for books by the brilliant Agatha Christie. Granted, she doesn’t always play fair, but I always find myself forgiving her because she is an expert at keeping her readers entertained.